State of B\"uchi Complementation

Complementation of B\"uchi automata has been studied for over five decades since the formalism was introduced in 1960. Known complementation constructions can be classified into Ramsey-based, determinization-based, rank-based, and slice-based approaches. Regarding the performance of these approaches, there have been several complexity analyses but very few experimental results. What especially lacks is a comparative experiment on all of the four approaches to see how they perform in practice. In this paper, we review the four approaches, propose several optimization heuristics, and perform comparative experimentation on four representative constructions that are considered the most efficient in each approach. The experimental results show that (1) the determinization-based Safra-Piterman construction outperforms the other three in producing smaller complements and finishing more tasks in the allocated time and (2) the proposed heuristics substantially improve the Safra-Piterman and the slice-based constructions.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures, a preliminary version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Implementation and Application of Automata (CIAA

Poincaré Plot of Fingertip Photoplethysmogram Pulse Amplitude Suitable to Assess Diabetes Status

Multiscale entropy (MSE), an estimate of the complexity of physiological signals has been used for assessing diabetes status. This method requires much computation effort. Our study aimed to examine the Poincaré plot, an easier method for computation to differentiate the diabetes status. We selected subjects and divided them into three groups including the non- diabetes (HbA1c ≤ 6.5%, n=22), diabetes with good control (6.5% < HbA1c < 8%, n=23), and diabetes with poor control (HbA1c ≥ 8%, n=17). Poincaré method used consecutive 250 data points of PPG pulse amplitudes from each subject’s right index fingertip. This method resulted in SSR, the standard deviation of the original photoplethysmogram (PPG) pulse amplitude (SD1) and the standard deviation of the interval 1 PPG pulse amplitude (SD2) ratio. The SSR in the three groups of non-diabetes, diabetes with good control and diabetes with poor control were 0.50, 0.28, and 0.23, respectively and differed between groups (P < 0.05).  Our findings suggested that the Poincaré plot of right-hand PPG pulse amplitude may be convenient to evaluate diabetes status

Tinzaparin Provides Lower Lipid Profiles in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

As a low-molecular-weight heparin, tinzaparin has effectively been used as an anticoagulant during hemodialysis sessions. However, the impact of different heparin types on dyslipidemia is still controversial. In our study, 434 chronic hemodialysis patients were evaluated. The mean age was 65 ± 13. Forty-eight patients (11%) and 386 patients (89%) were in the tinzaparin and unfractionated heparin (UFH) groups, respectively. Triglyceride had significant difference between the two groups (P=0.001) but total cholesterol, HDL, or LDL did not. In the univariate analysis, the triglyceride level was significantly associated with tinzaparin use [β: −39.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): −76.7 to −3.0], and this association remained following the multivariate analysis (β: −40.8, 95% CI: −75.1 to −6.5). The difference in serum total cholesterol level between tinzaparin and UFH became significant (β: −13, 95% CI: −24.5 to −1.56) after adjustment in the multivariate analysis. Moreover, in a subgroup analysis, male diabetic patients showed lower serum triglyceride levels with the use of tinzaparin, while older, nondiabetic, male patients showed significant advantages in total cholesterol levels with the use of tinzaparin. Based on our findings, tinzaparin shows a significant association with a lower lipid profile in patients with chronic hemodialysis when compared to UFH

High expression FUT1 and B3GALT5 is an independent predictor of postoperative recurrence and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cancer may arise from dedifferentiation of mature cells or maturation-arrested stem cells. Previously we reported that definitive endoderm from which liver was derived, expressed Globo H, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4. In this study, we examined the expression of their biosynthetic enzymes, FUT1, FUT2, B3GALT5 and ST3GAL2, in 135 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues by qRT-PCR. High expression of either FUT1 or B3GALT5 was significantly associated with advanced stages and poor outcome. Kaplan Meier survival analysis showed significantly shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) for those with high expression of either FUT1 or B3GALT5 (P = 0.024 and 0.001, respectively) and shorter overall survival (OS) for those with high expression of B3GALT5 (P = 0.017). Combination of FUT1 and B3GALT5 revealed that high expression of both genes had poorer RFS and OS than the others (P < 0.001). Moreover, multivariable Cox regression analysis identified the combination of B3GALT5 and FUT1 as an independent predictor for RFS (HR: 2.370, 95% CI: 1.505-3.731, P < 0.001) and OS (HR: 2.153, 95% CI: 1.188-3.902, P = 0.012) in HCC. In addition, the presence of Globo H, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4 in some HCC tissues and their absence in normal liver was established by immunohistochemistry staining and mass spectrometric analysis

Clinical Study Tinzaparin Provides Lower Lipid Profiles in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

As a low-molecular-weight heparin, tinzaparin has effectively been used as an anticoagulant during hemodialysis sessions. However, the impact of different heparin types on dyslipidemia is still controversial. In our study, 434 chronic hemodialysis patients were evaluated. The mean age was 65 ± 13. Forty-eight patients (11%) and 386 patients (89%) were in the tinzaparin and unfractionated heparin (UFH) groups, respectively. Triglyceride had significant difference between the two groups ( = 0.001) but total cholesterol, HDL, or LDL did not. In the univariate analysis, the triglyceride level was significantly associated with tinzaparin use [ : −39.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): −76.7 to −3.0], and this association remained following the multivariate analysis ( : −40.8, 95% CI: −75.1 to −6.5). The difference in serum total cholesterol level between tinzaparin and UFH became significant ( : −13, 95% CI: −24.5 to −1.56) after adjustment in the multivariate analysis. Moreover, in a subgroup analysis, male diabetic patients showed lower serum triglyceride levels with the use of tinzaparin, while older, nondiabetic, male patients showed significant advantages in total cholesterol levels with the use of tinzaparin. Based on our findings, tinzaparin shows a significant association with a lower lipid profile in patients with chronic hemodialysis when compared to UFH

Influence of electrode thermal conductivity on resistive switching behavior during reset process

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is the most promising candidate for non-volatile memory (NVM) due to its extremely low operation voltage, extremely fast write/erase speed, and excellent scaling capability. However, an obstacle hindering mass production of RRAM is the non-uniform physical mechanism in its resistance switching process. This study examines the influence of different electrode thermal conductivity on switching behavior during the reset process. Electrical analysis methods and an analysis of current conduction mechanism indicate that better thermal conductivity in the electrode will require larger input power in order to induce more active oxygen ions to take part in the reset process. More active oxygen ions cause a more complete reaction during the reset process, and cause the effective switching gap (dsw) to become thicker. The effect of the electrode thermal conductivity and input power are explained by our model and clarified by electrical analysis methods. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract